Rampart headlines list of surprise Colorado girls basketball contenders

While Colorado high school girls basketball produces more than its share of Division I talent, one fairly legitimate complaint could be offered about the state's big-school circuit.

It had become too predictable.

Certain teams could be penciled into the final eight virtually every season.

Well, count this season as an anomaly. Yes, Regis Jesuit (Aurora), No. 3 in MaxPreps' Xcellent 25 national rankings, is among the fray, but stalwarts such as Highlands Ranch and ThunderRidge (Highlands Ranch) have been eliminated. Of those that remain in contention, perhaps Rampart (Colorado Springs) was the least forecasted at the outset of the season.



The second-seeded Rams (20-5) will take on Grandview (Aurora) (23-2) as part of a four-game block of Class 5A quarterfinals at the Denver Coliseum on Thursday night.

MaxPreps Colorado Class 5A state tournament brackets

"We have worked hard to build a program at Rampart High School over the past four years," Rams coach Megan Leatham said. "We knew going into this year that we were good, but we needed to learn how to win the big games.

"After an early win against Rock Canyon and some success versus longtime league powerhouses, we started to realize just how good we were."

The Colorado Springs-based Rams have kept it going in the playoffs with wins against George Washington (Denver) and Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch), and will aim to keep it going against Grandview and talented freshman Michaela Onyenwere (18.6 scoring average).

The Rams have a star of their own in junior Cassidy Budge. She averages 18 points a game and scored 30 on Tuesday night in the 61-52 win against Mountain Vista.



"Cassidy Budge is a coach's dream," Leatham said. "She is one of the most competitive players I have ever coached and she has never taken one possession off - practice or a game. She is composed, smart, has amazing body control and an unbelievable court sense."

The winner will take on the Fossil Ridge (Fort Collins)-Dakota Ridge (Littleton) winner. While Fossil Ridge (24-1) won the Front Range League and has had a stellar season behind Savannah Smith (19.5 scoring average) and others, Dakota Ridge has crashed the party. The No. 6 Eagles (19-7) upset Pine Creek (Colorado Springs) in the second round then handled Legacy (Broomfield) in the Sweet 16 behind 29 points from Lauren Wood to earn the quarterfinals berth.

On the other side of the bracket, Regis Jesuit (23-2) and its six Division-I bound seniors will aim to keep their title defense going against Lakewood (24-1). The Tigers' storybook season, headlined by sophomore guard Mackenzie Forrest, included Tuesday's 62-52 home win against Highlands Ranch in the Sweet 16.

Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) (22-3) and Poudre (Fort Collins) will meet in the other quarterfinal, with Poudre also something of a surprise entrant if hypothesizing from the beginning of the season. The Impalas (20-5) have been solid all season with help from the talents of Colorado State-bound Myanne Hamm. Cherry Creek senior Mikaela Eppard, meanwhile, has been a double-double machine (15.9 points, 10.7 rebounds).

In 4A, all the remaining seeds are No. 1s and 2s – other than Palmer Ridge (Monument). The third-seeded Bears worked their way into the quarterfinals by dispatching No. 2 Glenwood Springs 50-32 in the Sweet 16.

The Bears' reward? A matchup with overall top seed Broomfield (25-0), an Eagles squad that has gone unscathed behind the talents of junior Callie Kaiser and a host of other productive teammates. All four 4A quarterfinals are Saturday at the Denver Coliseum.



"We are excited for the opportunity to play the number one overall seed," Bears coach Dennis Coates said. "They have been a dominant force in the past 10 years and we are the new kids on the block. Our girls are 64-12 over the last three years and have been preparing for this exact game.

"I think everyone that plays Broomfield this year will be an underdog. We are excited for our turn. We were the underdog last round and that worked out well for us."

Palmer Ridge (22-3) is hoping its vaunted front court will help its cause against the mighty Eagles. Ali Meyer averages 13.3 points and 10 rebounds and fellow senior Michelle DeCoud also averages near a double-double (13.2 and 8.4).

"Every coach loves his players, but I have a special bunch that has worked really hard to get to where they are," Coates said. "Meyer's and DeCoud's success is a direct result of their hard work and the unselfishness of our other players."

The other quarterfinal on this side of the bracket features Jamie Carey's Sand Creek (Colorado Springs) Scorpions against Sherryl Klosterman's Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) Eagles. Each coach has been successful at the 5A level and continuing that trend here. Sand Creek sophomore Liah Davis has been a terror underneath while Valor juniors Kendall Bradbury and Caroline Bryan each average more than 17 points a game.

On the opposite side, Mesa Ridge (Colorado Springs) and D'Evelyn (Denver) meet in one quarterfinal while Pueblo South and Elizabeth square off in the other.



Mesa Ridge (25-0) and sophomore Kylee Shook have matched Broomfield's undefeated mark while D'Evelyn coach Chris Olson will aim to get his team to the title game for the second straight season.

Pueblo South and high-scoring Shannon Patterson (21.7 per game) are looking to repeat as champs after a 20-plus year drought by Pueblo schools, while Elizabeth and Oregon-bound Tatum Neubert are making the school's first appearance in the final eight. Neubert averages 22.4 points and 8.9 rebounds.

MaxPreps Colorado Class 4A state tournament brackets